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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Stair Basket on my $0 budget - Organizing my life one step at a time

If you are anything like my family, you always have a pile of stuff sitting on your stairs to either go up or go down. I have always wanted to have a basket that sits on my stairs but I am far to cheap to spend $40 on a small wicker step/stair basket. So I came up with this idea yesterday when I was at the grocery store picking up fresh fruits and vegetables. Isn't it great! Look what you can do with a free pasta box, duct tape, left over fabric and Mod Podge.

Before

After

Materials:

1 Box with the width and height you want

Fabric to cover

Mod Podge

Duct Tape

Method:
We removed the clear packing tape from the bottom of the box so it could be laid flat.

We measured my stair height (approx. 8 inches) and depth (approx. 12 inches). Using a long metal ruler we drew straight lines on the box to identify where the 'step' piece would be. Do this on both sides of the box..be sure to work on the same end :)

Here is a bit of a tricky part, I only made 3 cuts on each side of the box (see picture below - I made cuts along the bold black lines and I folded along the dotted line) so that I could fold the box and keep most of the box intact to create the bottom and side of the 'step' part.

Here is where you just have to trust me and work with this as you go. This is hard for me to explain which means it will be even more difficult to understand. But believe me it is easy when you are doing it. The 2 folded pieces come together to create the back of the step, the 2 bottom flaps come up to also cover the back of the step and then there is a long piece on the end of the box that folds up to create the bottom of the 'step' piece. Now that I have lost everyone here is what it looks like after the first 2 steps.

And this is after all the folds and I duct taped the seams to secure it.

I removed the top flaps of the box because I did not need any extra height. If you box is not high enough, you can use the top flaps for this.

Making the shape of the stair basket, took me about 10 minutes to do. But the next step of covering it with fabric took me almost 2 hours! I didn't have much of this fabric left over from recovering my kitchen chairs so I had to plan wisely. It really wasn't difficult as I used Mod Podge to secure the fabric to the box but the planning took me forever. I used some left over black vinyl for the bottom of the box so that it wouldn't show any dirt (plus I didn't want to use more of the fabric since I might want to use it on something else later).

So here is the end result from all angles. My carpets look really dirty but they aren't..honestly it is the lighting.

By the way, someone recommended that I host a $0 craft party at the end of the month so everyone can post their $0 ideas. I have never done a party before...Is anyone interested in participating in this? Please let me know what you think.

85 comments:

Okay, I don't know what I like more: Your genius creation or your curved staircase! I'm going to facebook and tweet about this bc seriously, you rock!! I'm WAY too cheep to pay for one of those staircase baskets either!

You've done it again!!! :) Seriously wonderful idea. I was doing a similar thing yesterday by creating two CD storage items out of one box and covering them in fabric. Unfortunately my skills are not quite up to your standard, but I was happy to at least have given it a shot.I think a $0 craft linkup party is a great idea. It will encourage many of us to be more creative with what we have. I'm so inspired by what you are doing here, I would like to put a link to your blog in my sidebar. Do you have a button I could use?Enjoy the rest of your weekend,Anne xx

This is a great idea, I am trying this one too. I love that you are doing all this for $0. Our family is adjusting to me staying home as a full time mom and adding another little guy to our family (I am due in 6 weeks). So anyway I am always looking for inexpensive ways to decorate and organize. I would love to join in a party if I can come up with some ideas!

I found this post through Making the World Cuter and wanted to say how much I like it! I would also love for you to link up with me at Saturday Mornings if you haven't been by yet! Everyone is welcome and prizes are awarded monthly to those who join in! Here is the link if you want to "Strut Your Stuff!"

The basket is just what your beautiful staircase needed and the fabric you used is lovely. I have wanted to to purchase one of the staircase baskets, but like you, I am not going to fork out $40.00 for a small basket that will not hold all I need it to. So Like you, I will be making my own. Thanks so much for showing us how. I am a follower.

OMG I LOVE IT! I am envisioning this project on my stairway to the boys rooms and no more piling it up on the stairs! Glad to know I am not hte only one that drops their goodies off on the stairs!!!! Can't wait to see if I can do this project!

Genius!!! What a great project & it really looks cute on your steps! I'm definately going after this idea & will give you credit if/when I post it on my blog! Seriously THANKS for sharing this!!!! (I found your blog through Skip to My Lou) - Julie

I am SO guilty of putting crap on the stairs. I got it from my mom and she hated that it started to become a habit. But we have 5 levels in our house and it's a pain to walk up and down all the time! Great solution!

I have been drooling over those stair baskets at Ballard, completely unwilling to pay what they ask. Your instructions seem clear enough. I may try it! Thanks for the inspiration! (Found you from Somewhat Simple.)

I am a new follower now! Just saw your link on Tip Junkie and had to check it out! Love, love, love this idea! What a great way to make your own. I have always seen baskets, but this allows you to use any fabric you want! Thanks for sharing.

Stephanie - what a great recycled project - love the look of the fabric! Thanks so much for linking up to the Sunday Showcase Party - I greatly appreciate it. I have featured this today. Hope you are enjoying your week ~ Stephanie Lynn www.bystephanielynn.com

Sorry, but I've been trying to origami my box into the shape that you're showing and it's just not happening. I always did really well on those flattened box questions on the CTBS tests we took as kids in NY too!

I googled for "step basket" and would you believe your post came up right under a link to buy one at Amazon? :D I'm totally going to do this as soon as I get some more duct tape! Thanks for the great idea!

You are brilliant! I googled a stair basket so I haven't looked @ any of your other posts yet but consider me your newest stalker! I love it!!! If you're ever in need of a new recipe check out my blog... Mealmakinmomma.blogspot.com

Thank you so much!! I have wanted a stairbasket and like you I refuse to pay $40 for one. I think I'm going to try covering the box with masking tape and shoe polish to get that "leather" look! Thanks!

Awesome! I was just doing a search for stair baskets because my mom needs one. I was going to get her one for Christmas, but I think I'll make her one instead. She does a sort of primitive style in her house, so I will stamp on some burlap and modpodge it to the box. Great idea. I wonder if all stairs are the same size? I guess I can look at the dimentions of the ones online to see if they are all the same. Thanks for the idea!

Thank you for this wonderful idea. I too like some of the others found you through a search for stair baskets. Thank goodness you were on that search because I much prefer to make my own for $0 than to spend the money they ask even at the best deal for one. At last I will be able to tidy up my stairs with one or two homemade stair baskets instead of 3 and 4 $store plastic bins. Thank you again because my stairs are always a disaster since I take care of young kids and all the extras I keep for the kids (hats, mitts, scarves, socks and spare splash pants, etc) plus the same for my husband and I are kept on the steps close to the door. Easy and quick access when on the run and trying to get out in a hurry. This idea is going to save me easy $80.00 + dollars because I would have needed more than 1 stair basket to meet my needs. So grateful for your genius.

Yay! Just did a search for over the stair basket tutorial, and here's where I landed! Not only did I get the directions and inspiration I need, but also found a great new blog. Thanks for sharing this, can't wait to explore your other great ideas!!

So, I was just reading your post and it dawned on me that I hung onto scraps of wallpaper from when we walpapered the hallway...cavering a stair "basket" with that would be awsome! Thanks for the wonderful idea!

I really love this. My new apt. stairs are pretty narrow and I think that a traditional stair basket would be too wide. I'm going to make one today and I'm going to add some handles to it so that I can carry it upstairs if I want. I'll post a pic after I'm done. Thanks for the fantastic idea!

Used a box that was leftover from gifts that were shipped for Christmas, some leftover fabric from making curtains for the kitchen/dining room, only thing I had to spend $$ on was the Mod Podge, but I'm sure I will end up using it again. It looked great....until my 4 year old decided she needed to "decorate" it, now its covered in crayon and stickers...oh well :)

I'm truly enjoying the design and layout of your blog. It's a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme? Fantastic work!

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About Me

I am a mom to two beautiful children and a wife to a wonderful husband. I am a full time mom and a part time project manager. I would love to say this blog is a hobby but I really believe it is my way of having something to call my own :)